* Based on a 55 to 1 ratio of population between the United States and Israel.

To quote from Michael Freund, 15,000 AND COUNTING, Jerusalem Post, November 19, 2002:

...Israel recently set a new world record. It is unclear when precisely it occurred, or what the exact circumstances were. But at some point earlier this month, Israel became the first country to endure its 15,000th terrorist attack in just over a two-year period. That works out, on average, to nearly one terror attack every hour of every day over 25 consecutive months.

But that is not what qualifies Israel for a place in the record books.

After all, many countries have experienced periods of civil unrest, subversive violence and lethal terrorism, albeit not nearly as intense or as prolonged as that which Israel has known of late.

What truly puts the Jewish state in a category all its own, however, is its willingness to tolerate this ongoing terror campaign, which should have been defeated long ago